Many consumers were pleased when Apple officially released the 16-inch MacBook Pro last week. One of the reasons is its new and improved Magic Keyboard that replaced the problematic butterfly type of the previous model. Interestingly, a new report claims that the 13-inch MacBook Pro Refresh will be reportedly released next year with the same keyboard as its bigger sibling.
Taiwan-based publication DigiTimes recently shared that industry sources claimed that the 13-inch MacBook Pro Refresh will be released in the first half of 2020. The refreshed version of the smaller premium laptop from Apple will reportedly feature the same 13.3 inches display size. However, there are several claims that it might feature a larger 14-inch display.
Wistron and Global Lighting Technologies are believed to be the suppliers of the new keyboard of the 13-inch MacBook Pro Refresh. This keyboard is reportedly based on the same redesigned scissor keyboard that the 16-inch MacBook Pro has, which is largely based on the Magic Keyboard of the Apple iMac. It is not yet confirmed if the 13-inch MacBook Pro Refresh will feature the same ESC physical key configuration.
This includes the inverted T arrow-key layout, or a separate Touch ID, wccftech claims that Apple will more likely stick to the layout considering it is less burdensome for the company to make a new layout. The site also thinks that the 13-inch MacBook Pro Refresh will house a 512 GB base storage with the option to increase maximum RAM and storage space. In terms of performance, the smaller display premium laptop from Apple will not outpace its bigger sibling in terms of performance, but it will still be a competent and capable machine.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro Refresh might have an Intel Core 17-10710U chip with six cores and 12 threads, the site claims. Earlier this year, Taiwan-based TFI analyst and popular Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the Cupertino-based tech giant will transition the whole Apple notebook lineup to scissor-switch keyboards come 2020. This includes all MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.
Apple's premium laptop and notebook series have suffered a backlash from users because of the butterfly keyboard. Users have complained about repeating, sticky, and nonfunctional keys since the keyboard was introduced in 2016. That's why it is not surprising if the company finally decides to completely move past it.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro received its latest update in Jul. 2019 while the higher 13-inch MacBook Pro models received their updates in May 2019.
